‘Frustrated’: Up to 59,000 Aussies to be left with useless phones as Telstra, Optus prepare to shut down 3G networks

Two of Australia’s largest telcos will switch off their 3G services within a week – a move which will leave tens of thousands of Aussies in the lurch due to their phones effectively being rendered useless. The shutdown of the mobile began late last year when Vodafone became the first telco to switch off its 3G network. Telstra and Optus will follow suit and shut down their networks by October 28. There are still 740,000 devices across the country which still need to be switched over before the deadline, or be rendered useless – due to a combination of those devices being older or foreign-made. Based on recent estimates, there are still about 59,000 devices in the country that will need to be updated over the next week. There are handsets in Australia that rely solely on the 3G network for voice calling, with these handsets not being able to make calls when the switchover to 4G occurs. Madeleine Achenza, who is using a four-year-old iPhone 11 with the amaysim network, was given just 11 days notice to upgrade her device. She said her telco’s messages made it sound like she just needed to change plans. As part of the upgrade, she will need to buy a new phone or risk not being able to make calls, texts or use the internet on her device. “I was so frustrated when I found that I had to buy a new phone. My current phone, despite being four years old, works perfectly fine and I haven’t budgeted to spend $1000+ on a new one, so it’s really going to make a dent in my savings,” Ms Achenza said. To see if your device is one of the impacted phones, text the number 3 to 3498 from the device you believe is impacted. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the switchover to 4G and 5G would boost data capacity, speed and capability of Australia’s mobile network. “This means better quality mobile, less congestion on the networks and a better experience right across the country, including for our regions. This will make a real difference to households and businesses who are using more connected devices than ever,” Ms Rowland said. Optus head of new products Harvey Wright told NewsWire that the telco had sent more than 10 million messages to impacted customers in their base, including giving directions on how to get support throughout the process. “To maintain connectivity customers need to get a compatible device. We are providing a range of different options for those customers,” he said. “We recognise we are in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, so we are providing customers with a range of discounted and zero cost devices to help with that upgrade process,” Mr Wright said. A Telstra spokesman said they have been preparing for the 3G shutdown since 2019 and will continue to engage customers and stakeholders before the network is turned off on 28 October. “With the 3G network currently accounting for less than one per cent of mobile traffic on the Telstra network, the time is right for us to close it so we can focus on investing in future proofing our network to meet customer demand rather than in maintaining old technology that its increasingly hard to source parts for,” Telstra said in a statement to NewsWire. Businesses warned to check their devices It won’t just be mobile devices that are impacted, with other key pieces of equipment using the 3G network. Mr Wright said while the upgrade would help improve the reliability, capacity and speed in Australia, it wouldn’t just be mobile devices that were impacted but potentially other devices like tablets and dongles. Customers may be using a device that is: • Still reliant on 3G • A 4G device that uses 3G for emergency calls • An overseas or grey market device that isn’t compatible with Australian 4G technology Small and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson warned businesses to check their systems before October 28. “Many of us do not realise there is an awful lot of technology and equipment we use every day that’s enabled by 3G as the wireless comms link and that it will stop working when the system is turned off later this month unless it is upgraded,” Mr Billson said. He said more could be done by telecommunications companies and technology manufacturers and suppliers to improve awareness and action among small businesses, to identify those who might unknowingly be using 3G, and to explain the wide-ranging effects and options to upgrade or replace their equipment as soon as possible. “Don’t risk being caught out. Please, check the functionality of your technology so you’re not a 3G casualty,” Mr Billson said.